With a release coming only two months after Crusade, The Blues Alone, the first Mayall "solo" album (i.e.
without The Bluesbreakers), was John Mayall's third album of 1967, or fourth, if you count the various artists compilation Raw Blues.
Like Raw Blues, it was released initially on Decca's discount Ace of Clubs label to distinguish it from a regular Mayall album, although the distinction has been lost over time.
It was actually recorded prior to Crusade on May 1, 1967.
Mayall played and overdubbed all instruments except drums, which were handled by Bluesbreaker Keef Hartley, which was one way of dealing with his ongoing personnel difficulties (by this time, his bassist, John McVie, had left to join Fleetwood Mac).
It also served notice that, despite his band being a spawning ground for several British stars by now, the real star of the group was its leader.
But it didn't quite prove that, since Mayall, while certainly competent on harmonica, keyboards, and guitars, doesn't display the flair of an Eric Clapton or Peter Green, and the overdubbing, as is so often the case, robs the recording of any real sense of interplay.
(The Blues Alone hit #24 in the U.K.
and #128 in the U.S.).
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brand New StartJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 2 | Please Don't TellJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 02:33 | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| 3 | Down the LineJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 17 MB |
| 4 | Sonny Boy BlowJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Marsha's MoodJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 6 | No More TearsJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 7 | Catch That TrainJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 8 | Cancelling OutJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Harp ManJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 02:44 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 10 | Brown SugarJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Broken WingsJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 12 | Don't Kick MeJohn Mayall | John Mayall | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 40 mins | 92 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 218 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gus Dudgeon | Engineer |
| 2 | Dave Grinstead | Engineer |
| 3 | Keef Hartley | Drums |
| 4 | John Mayall | Composer, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 5 | John Tracy | Liner Notes |
| 6 | Mike Vernon | Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |